Re: Steven Universe

Re: Steven Universe

I know right it's a very strange reaction. I think it's because people take one aspect or behaviour for a character that's "bad" (I say that because in some circumstances it is genuinely bad, or it's undesirable but makes sense in context and stuff, or it's not bad and IDK what people are thinking) and apply it to the whole. Because they don't want to like someone who has bad traits or whatever so they demonize them? IDK I will never get the Pearl thing it all seems pretty obvious to me how she feels and how and why she behaves and stuff... sigh.

Re: Steven Universe

Cry for Help made me feel like this:

Because yeah. the title is, on the surface, about Peridot, but really it's about Pearl.

I don't have anything against Lapis but I'm just kind of indifferent to her...she's EXACTLY the kind of character I go for normally, complete with blue hair and water wings but something about the delivery, or her voice acting? I'm just not that interested..

However. That is how I have felt about Amethyst (insecure characters who act tough to hide their insecurities; not my cup of tea) and yet last episode I was all AMETHYST FEELS, so who knows, maybe Lapis will inspire feels in me yet.

After all, my first gut reaction to Nanami was ew burn it with fire. D:

Speaking of Nanami: Sardonyx is Nanami. YOU CAN NOT CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE.

Re: Steven Universe

This will likely get me raked over the coals but I'm not a huge fan of Sardonyx. There's something about her that doesn't feel genuine. The tux, the lame jokes, all that jazz. It combined into someone who's just doing an act (which I suppose was the point). The one intriguing thing about her, though, was that she was just a liiiiiiitle bit too enthusiastic about crushing Steven. It hints at something dark hiding under the veneer of the MC.

The other noteworthy thing about this episode was the intentionally not-so-subtle jab at everyone who demonized Pearl since the previous Steven Bomb.

Re: Steven Universe

Flah wrote:

This will likely get me raked over the coals but I'm not a huge fan of Sardonyx. There's something about her that doesn't feel genuine. The tux, the lame jokes, all that jazz. It combined into someone who's just doing an act (which I suppose was the point). The one intriguing thing about her, though, was that she was just a liiiiiiitle bit too enthusiastic about crushing Steven. It hints at something dark hiding under the veneer of the MC.

The other noteworthy thing about this episode was the intentionally not-so-subtle jab at everyone who demonized Pearl since the previous Steven Bomb.

I just can't be mad at Pear either...

...or Pearl...

I was a little uncomfortable watching Sardonyx, which I think was the point. Lack of genuine-ness, like you mentioned, perhaps. I was excited to watch her but just a liiiiiitle bit nervous as to what she was about to do next? I definitely think there's more to the character as well.

I liked how they kind of foreshadowed Garnet's reaction to Pearl's antics when she's watching cartoons with Steven and he says something along the lines of 'he should just forgive her, right Garnet?' and Garnet kind of goes, 'hmmmmm'.

Also Garnet[ yelling at Pearl made me die a little inside. D:] But I LOVE that Amethyst [defended Pearl.] It makes perfect sense and fits her character and development so far and it's the little things like these that make me love the series so much.

Re: Steven Universe

I dunno, I found Sardonyx's personality and schtick to make perfect sense. Pearl wants desperately to impress, show off and teach, but often is neurotic and insecure enough to fail spectacularly at doing so nearly every time. She can be a bit of a cornball deep down and doesn't even realize it. You combine that desire with Garnet's rock solid confidence, self-awareness and zero shits about what anyone thinks, as well as her own sense of humor and willingness to laugh about herself or act a little silly especially if Steven is watching and it makes him happy, and you get a verbose, humorous performer with just a wink of lamp shading. Both Sugilite and Sardonyx were eager to please Steven and show off. I think a lot of people were expecting a sort of ultra-precise, uber cool robot of a fusion, so Sardonyx came as a real surprise, and probably a disappointment. But I love the twist; it shows another layer of how fusions work. Opal is how Pearl's reserve and Amethyst's decided lack of it balance one another; Garnet is two separate personalities complimenting and working in tandem and blending in some respects, but remaining distinct from another in others; and Sugilite and Sardonyx are both representative of two people's more hidden traits or desires amplifying one another or letting themselves be expressed.

Pearl was addicted to fusing with Garnet for so many reasons. She partially views Garnet as the strong leader and closest thing to Rose, and judging by her behavior in We Need to Talk, fusion means something very special to her as well, and she misses it (heck, maybe Rose's death is why Opal was never formed; the turmoil it caused for both her and Amethyst and the feeling that Opal wasn't what she wanted, she wanted Rainbow Quartz). She craves Garnet's respect and willingness to fuse, because Garnet herself is a love fusion, that feeling she misses, and because Garnet is powerful and Pearl has issues with feelings of self-worth and being weak or unneeded (her attempt to placate Garnet shows this; she continues to search for Peridot, to bring Garnet tangible results of her skills as a warrior and crystal gem, to give Garnet something to measure her usefulness with and regain that lost respect) and returning to the communication hub and remembering Garnet's past snub of her suggestion to fuse digs that desire to please back up.

I feel Pearl may even fundamentally misunderstand Garnet's anger; that Garnet sees her as insufferably weak and pathetic and conniving, needing to scheme in order to steal or gain strength. However, what Garnet feels is betrayed, what she feels is insulted and especially violated. That Pearl was using her to make herself feel more complete. And fusing is so fundamentally about trust. Have you ever had someone want to be in a relationship, but they put you on a pedestal and sort of emotionally used you, loving the parts of you that made them feel better, stronger, more confident or whatever, the parts that they needed, but not the rest. They loved the way your love and attention made them feel, how your very presence made some sort of statement about who they were, but not you. This is sort of how I think Garnet feels about Pearl's extreme desire to fuse with her. If fusions are an allegory for romantic and platonic relationships involving love, and if the episode following Cry for Help is any indication (parents fighting and how it affects kids) it is, then what Pearl did was essentially try to romantically replace Rose with Garnet, unintentionally disregarding who Garnet actually is and her own feelings in the process.

And Amethyst was so perfect in this episode I can't even stand it. How she doesn't take pleasure in Pearl's weakness or getting caught, even though she was dealing with her own emotional baggage of regret, jealousy and shame at the time; that she instead sympathizes with Pearl and even tries to defend her to the point of admitting something about herself and her own feelings, which is a Really Big Deal for Amethyst, is just... GAH AND SHE SANG AND IT GAVE ME A SAD.

Re: Steven Universe

OnlyInThisLight wrote:

GAH AND SHE SANG AND IT GAVE ME A SAD.

ME TOO

Totally agree with your post. Sardonyx was a pretty big surprise to me but definitely makes sense, having parts from both Garnet and Pearl - probably not what anyone was expecting. I do want to see more of her for sure.

ALSO THINGS

NOTICE HOW PEARL AND GARNET ARE NOT ACTUALLY LOOKING INTO EACH OTHER'S EYES.As opposed to Ruby x Sapphire in the next episode, when Ruby pushes Sapphire's bangs away and they make full eye contact. i smert.

Re: Steven Universe

I'm so happy Ame got some good focus in onion episode, I thought the cast was getting a bit unbalanced and Amethyst needed a bit more development to stand alongside Garnet and Pearl. Oh, and I was genuinely scared for Steven's mental health in that house.

Re: Steven Universe

I think there is still a lot of backstory surrounding how Amethyst and Greg became friends and then their falling out. It always felt odd that a gem as adventurous and with as many human vices as Amethyst appeared to have little to no interest in engaging with Beach City citizens and activities, instead choosing to sleep all day in the temple or only going out when alongside Steven. Finding out that she in fact did for a time, and that it mattered to her (Pearl strikes me as a young adult, Amethyst as a young teenager; she has no other beings her "age" to be with other than human teenagers), that she had relationships outside the gems (she was born from the earth's crust after all), its all something I really want to see more of, especially in how it pertains to Amethyst's identity and self-acceptance issues.

And speaking of Steven's reactions to the gems' personal conflict and his own emotions being somewhat disregarded; we see Steven try and play the role of friend with someone he was pretty uncomfortable with so that Amethyst could have some privacy with Vidalia. He's a lot like a normal kid who blames themselves for the emotional states of his family, but he also has this worrisome-ly mature and overcompensating manner of sacrificing his own needs in order to make the gems happier; because he feels guilty over Rose's death and his sense of duty as her replacement, to be the loving and wise "glue" that keeps the crystal gems together. In fact, I feel as though Garnet even mentioned something to him along those lines, that they aren't the crystal gems without him. He cites his mother's shield and his duty as a reason to return to Beach City when Peridot and Jasper land. He overhears the gems discussing how lost they feel without Rose when he "breaks" the pretend challenge course they made for him. To Steven, the gems are only struggling so much, arguing, feeling sad and disconnected, because he isn't his mother.

Re: Steven Universe

Re: Steven Universe

Peridot is such an adorable dork, I love her. She's such a 90s villain that she cracks me up. She's definitely my second favorite gem so far.

A little disappointed that no Lapis in this Steven Bomb. I was hoping to at least see a little bit of her or Malachite, especially because they kept putting her in the episode promo art, but nothing. Maybe next time.

Glad that Pearl and Garnet patched things up in the end, but I have a feeling their relationship still won't be the same for a long time. It was a bit sad to see Sardonyx again subdued - she didn't even say anything.

Re: Steven Universe

I'm not overly huge on Peridot, she's kinda funny but she has also devoured the entire fandom. I just hope the SU creators are confident enough and savvy enough not to respond to it by flooding new episodes with shoehorned Peridot appearances, tbh. This show has a lot of big themes, big characters and big stories, and I would hate to see it go the way of MLP, and turn into one big self-congratulating in-joke (also, anyone notice how many of the original female creators of that team have been pushed aside or entirely let go in order to showcase the male writers?). Lapis herself appeals to me aesthetically; I love her design and the whole idea of her, I'd be happy to learn more, but so far I don't even think she's spoken enough lines for me to really gush over.

I dunno. From what little of the SU fandom I've viewed on tumblr (and then sort of backed out of, because it's obviously mostly teenagers and preteens, which makes perfect sense and is totally cool, but isn't really a space I want to intrude on) I am nervous about some fan behavior. Repetitive amounts of I WANT MORE THIS in various iterations. I want more of what the show's writers give us, not of any particular character, since they have so far been spectacular at subverting my expectations and getting me interested in stories I was sure would be unappealing filler or predictable angst. I want them to continue to express themselves and what they feel for these characters, not just shove a popular face in front of the screen over and over again to respond to the memes. Especially as the show enters more concrete story and character arcs, I wouldn't really like them to feel pressured to make space for flanderization for the sake of fan pleasing. They do work under Cartoon Network, after all.

Re: Steven Universe

Fandoms are always gonna be like that, it's just an unwritten rule that comes with them.

And now we wait for an undetermined amount of time, but hopefully they'll return to a week by week format soon. I don't exactly like how they're prolonging development of the story, but I'm here for the characters before that and they were fantastic. I'm also 98% sure that the thing that Garnet and Pearl were in is how Homeworld made the cluster gems by forcing them together. Maybe they just make them in the ship and put them in kindergarten for some reason, I dunno. More stuff to speculate about.

Re: Steven Universe

serialxperiments wrote:

Fandoms are always gonna be like that, it's just an unwritten rule that comes with them.

I feel like I've been around the block a time enough or two to argue that fandoms really are not always like this. And I'm not specifically speaking about "demanding" (mlp brony fandom is demanding and entitled to a point that it is honestly unfair to ever compare any other fandom to them), but on this sort of memetic fandom culture that glomps onto one character, often a side, recurring or background character, and makes them their own (either through creating extra backstory and fleshing out their personality or just through on onslaught of running jokes and the like) and popularizes them to the point that the creators feel compelled to provide more of them, sometimes to the point of flanderization because the addition is something that wasn't born more naturally out of their writing and worldbuilding preferences.

It might be because, hey, internet is now a thing, and tumblr and other social sites make forming mass communities easier, and so meme-ing everything into the ground is just what's going to happen, and it's all going to be much more visible than it ever has been. It still doesn't explain this weird sort of unintentional popularity contest or ranking that I see cropping up in regards to characters, or just weirdly, explosively enamored a fandom can become as a whole over a minor character so quickly and so easily.

Honestly, while I loved the last episode, and usually SU does great things with multiple plot lines and its small episode runtime (See: Cry for Help and how it's both a Pearl/Garnet episode, and an Amythest episode, and both those stories are distinct but interconnected), the resolution with Pearl and Garnet felt so rushed when the two came to a head considering its a multiple episode character development arc; I could have personally used a little less Peridot comic-relief and more focus on the Crystal Gems themselves.

Also, I am wondering about the weird lack of scheduling with SU and the two Steven Bombs. There is a part of me that wonders if they aren't being slated for cancellation and the show is being rushed out and wrapped up ahead of time. I can't help but be a little worried.

Re: Steven Universe

From what I've seen, I think the fandom just wants something new. We've seen so much of the Crystal Gems and they're great, but for the most part Homeworld is still a big mystery. Now we have three Homeworld gems on Earth, but the show hasn't really focused much on them yet. So the fans try to make up for it by making their own headcanons to fill the wait until we find out something about them. Peridot is the most accessible Homeworld gem so far.

Also, Peridot's popularity doesn't surprise me - she's a cute and funny little oddball. She's evil, but likeably evil in a similar way that Team Rocket was in Pokemon. Idk, I don't think that's anything new? Those sort of characters generally become popular. I really doubt it's going to become the Peridot show.

Re: Steven Universe

OnlyInThisLight wrote:

I'm not overly huge on Peridot, she's kinda funny but she has also devoured the entire fandom.......Lapis herself appeals to me aesthetically; I love her design and the whole idea of her, I'd be happy to learn more, but so far I don't even think she's spoken enough lines for me to really gush over.

Same and same.

I didn't start loving Pearl till the Steven Bombs, before I liked Garnet and Pearl equally, as cool charactera. Now it's more like MY CHILD PEARL. Because I know her better.

There have been rumors about the show going through hard times, but they said it gets around 1.2mil views when it airs, which seems quite good to me, not to mention thw overwhelmingly good press, however that is a mere fraction of Adventure Time viewership. However other shows have apparantly also gone through rhe 'steven bomb' epidemic before getting cancelled, so I dont know....

Compared to a show like Boueibu (obviously diferent because Japan) which is really pushing it with the merchandise and promotions. Where are the action figures, collectable figurins for adults, etc?

Re: Steven Universe

I have a bad feeling that the lack of merchandise may be because cartoon network execs don't think that girls buy as many toys as boys. Here's an article about the cancelling of Young Justice and what the issue was from a DC writer: http://io9.com/paul-dini-superhero-cart … 1483758317

I'm not sure why that would apply to this show though. I mean, their complaint about YJ was that it was an action show and supposedly girls only buy princess dolls - but this show has lots of characters they could make into dolls or whatever else they think little girls buy. Personally, I would buy a Lion plushie in a heartbeat.

Re: Steven Universe

HonorableShadow wrote:

I have a bad feeling that the lack of merchandise may be because cartoon network execs don't think that girls buy as many toys as boys. Here's an article about the cancelling of Young Justice and what the issue was from a DC writer: http://io9.com/paul-dini-superhero-cart … 1483758317

I'm not sure why that would apply to this show though. I mean, their complaint about YJ was that it was an action show and supposedly girls only buy princess dolls - but this show has lots of characters they could make into dolls or whatever else they think little girls buy. Personally, I would buy a Lion plushie in a heartbeat.

I can't help but think that's just that, an excuse.

Companies don't market to girls under the genuine, antiquated assumption that girls won't buy action-oriented or other such toys popular with boys*. It's done because they make more money separating the market along gender lines and they don't want girls to buy "boys" merchandise to maintain that. But that never stopped them from diversifying the boy's side of the toy aisles in ways you don't see on the girl's (sci fi, action, fantasy, occupational, video game tie ins, etc.), or shutting down and cutting off female intended media that incidentally garnered a male audience (they just market to that audience instead). That is all done because boys are more valued as consumers, plain and simple. And there is no economic justification for that.

SU sort of bucked that trend. Maybe Steven himself being the protagonist is what helped the show get greenlit in the first place, but it has thus far been a show filled with women and girls. It celebrates them, explores them, gives them struggles that mirror real world discrimination that isn't limited to gender politics (SO MUCH OF THIS), gives them highs and lows and lapses in ethics or manner, and goes into extreme detail on their complex relationships with one another, whose strength and role in the story is never reduced by Steven getting stronger. It's unapologetically tender and emotional with all its characters at times. It's everything you are not supposed to with female characters, basically. There are messages in SU that relate to blackness, and being queer, and even being nonbinary, of having nontraditional households, of poverty and working class life ... Steven Universe fucking goes all of the theres.

And to top all of that off, the creators of SU pretty much politely, but firmly, snubbed the massive cashwad that is the Bronies when Equestria Daily wanted to make a hub site for them like it did MLP, and expressed a dislike of the term "Gemtlemen" some male fans were using to describe themselves. They were not willing to compromise their show becoming another circle jerk for this type of audience, that they didn't want their fandom to be redefined into a male dominated space. I can't imagine Cartoon Network was happy with that.

I know as soon as I am financially up and running, I want to try and contribute to the show. I WILL BUY ALL THE LION PLUSHIES. I will buy Garnet with punch-action, and a spinning Pearl and bleching Amythest. I'll buy a Cheeseburger BackPack and jewelry and keychains modeled after all the gems. I'll buy tie-in comics on Kindle or in print, I'll buy Steven and Connie figures who sing together, I'll buy playsets of the Temple, of the awesome locations shown thus far. I'll buy a personal keychain fan that is a replica of Peridot's spinning fingers, a hand mirror with Lapis' cracked gem on the back, a full-sized Jasper helm. I'll buy a Steven Universe card game, video game, board game or lego set.

I'll fucking do it.

*It's pretty common knowledge at this point that girls are more open to enjoying things deemed "boyish" if only we've been forced to consume male-dominated and male-centered media for so long that maleness has been ingrained in us as the default, the normal we just so happen to deviate from)